A resource histogram (Choice A) is a bar chart that illustrates the number of hours a person, department, or entire project team will be needed each week or month over the course of the project. The chart can include a horizontal line that represents the maximum number of hours available from a particular resource. PMBOK® 9.1.3.1, pgs 265-266

Jim is developing the human resource management plan for the project he is managing. Knowing the complexity of his organization, he gathers and analyzes personnel administrative policies and organizational structure and culture. By doing this, Jim is considering the impact of __________.

A Issues on the issue log
B Enterprise environmental factors
C Risks
D The recognition and rewards program

Choice A is the correct answer. As project team development efforts such as training, team building, and colocation are implemented, the project management team makes formal or informal assessments of the project team’s effectiveness. PMBOK® 9.3.3.1, pg 278

At the ACME company, human resources are extremely constrained. Once on a project team, project resources have been highly productive; however, securing and committing resources for all the time they are needed for the project has historically been very difficult. Given this, the LEAST important section of a staffing management plan would be:

ACME has to manage resources within the constraints and needs the sections listed in Choices B, C and D in order to be able to cope with the situation. At this company, resources are always constrained, so while important, no amount of recognition and rewards (Choice A) will help. Choice A is the correct answer. PMBOK® 9.1.3.1, pgs 265-266

What is the BEST way to determine what project accomplishments have taken place, and if they will serve to make the team members feel proud?

A Track the project progress in the project management software
B Listen to the performance reports that are given by the team members
C Read e-mails from team members
D Have frequent conversations with team members

Choices A, B, and C are not the BEST way to determine project accomplishments, because they do not provide interactive discussion with team members on an individual basis. Choice D is the correct answer. Observation and conversation are used to stay in touch with the work and attitudes of project team members. PMBOK® 9.4.2.1, pg 282

You are the project manager for a large company. Your boss enters your office and announces that the annual headcount planning meeting is scheduled to take place two days from today. He would like to know what resources are involved with your project and for how long they are expected to work on the project. You tell him that you will be able to provide him with that information easily within the next hour, because all of that information is documented in your __________.

The staffing management plan (Choice D) is a document that describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. It is part of the human resource management plan. Components of the plan that are typically included are staff acquisition, resource calendars, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety. PMBOK® 9.1.3.1, pgs 265-267

Colocation has all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:

A Involves placing many or all of the most active project team members in the same physical location to enhance their ability to perform as a team.
B Can be temporary, such as at strategically important times during the project, or for the entire project.
C Can include use of a common meeting room, which may sometimes be called a war room.
D Is mostly used in organizations that are structured as a weak matrix.

Choices A, B, and C are all characteristics of colocation, so none of those choices can be the correct answer. Colocation strategies can include a team meeting room, places to post schedules, and other conveniences that enhance communication and a sense of community (PMBOK® 9.3.2.5, pg 277). If an organization is structured as a weak matrix (Choice D), it maintains many of the characteristics of a functional organization and the project manager role is more of a coordinator or expediter, so colocation would not apply. PMBOK® 2.1.3, pg 22

The physical or electronic representation of work performance information compiled in project documents, intended to generate decisions, actions, or awareness are:

Work performance reports (Choice C) are the physical or electronic representation of work performance information compiled in project documents, intended to generate decisions, actions, or awareness. They provide documentation about the current project status compared to project forecasts. PMBOK® 9.4.1.5, pg 281; Glossary pg 567

__________ is a point or matter in question or in dispute, or a point or matter that is not settled and is under discussion over which there are opposing views or disagreements.

A An opportunity
B An issue
C A healthy debate
D An argument

By definition, an issue (Choice B) is a point or matter in question or in dispute, or a point or matter that is not settled and is under discussion over which there are opposing views or disagreements. PMBOK® Glossary, pg 544

The following are all tools and techniques of Manage Project Team EXCEPT:

The project manager or project management team will be required to reflect the impact of any unavailability of required human resources in the project schedule (choice A), project budget (Choice B), project risks (Choice D), project quality, training plans, and the other project management plans. Organizational process assets (Choice D) would not reflect unavailability for a specific project., and is therefore the correct answer. PMBOK® 9.2, pg 269

The process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, required skills and reporting relationships, as well as creating the staffing management plan is:

Each of the following is a true statement regarding successful conflict management EXCEPT:

A Results in greater productivity and positive working relationships.
B Conflicts are addressed early.
C Conflicts are handled solely by the human resources department.
D Conflicts are addressed in private, using a direct, collaborative approach.

Mike’s sponsor tells him that the IT division directors are confused about how many of their people will be committed to his project during the 4th quarter. What document should Mike forward to the directors?

A A RAM chart
B A RACI chart
C The staffing management plan
D A position description document

A matrix-based chart (RAM or RACI) is used to show the connections between work packages or activities and project team members. Neither the matrix-based charts (Choices A and B) nor the position description document (Choice D) are time based; therefore, Choice C is the correct answer. The staffing management plan (a part of the human resource management plan within the project management plan) describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. PMBOK® 9.1.3.1, pg 265

All of the following are true about effective recognition and rewards EXCEPT:

A Only desirable behavior should be rewarded.
B Cultural differences should be considered.
C Give the team all possible recognition during the life cycle of the project rather than just after the project is completed.
D Awards should only be given during the annual performance assessment timeframe.

Choices A, B, and C are all true statements about effective recognition and rewards. Choice D, untimely recognition (waiting until an annual performance assessment), is not an effective way to recognize and reward desirable behavior and motivate people to meet new challenges, and is therefore the correct answer. PMBOK® 9.3.2.6, pg 277

Managing the project team requires a variety of management skills for fostering teamwork and integrating the efforts of team members to create high-performance teams. Developing a high performance team can be achieved by using a combination of skills with special emphasis on all of the following EXCEPT:

Choices A and D include confirming resource availability, which is part of the Acquire Project Team process. Choice B is part of Develop Project Team. This question is about Plan Human Resource Management. By definition, the Plan Human Resource Management process is the process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and required skills, reporting relationships, and creating a staffing management plan (Choice C). PMBOK® 9, pg 255

Which of the following is an objective for conducting project performance appraisals?

Choice C is the correct answer. Other objectives can include constructive feedback to team members, discovery of unknown or unresolved issues, development of individual training plans, and the establishment of specific goals for future time periods. PMBOK® 9.4.2.2, pg 282

Gina, the project sponsor, has asked Michael, the project manager, what project management tool would be BEST to use given that the team consists of both internal and external resources and there is not a clear division of roles and expectations. Michael’s answer is:

A Networking.
B Communication Plan.
C Ground rules.
D RACI chart.

The RACI (Choice D) is a type of responsibility assignment matrix (RAM), and is particularly important when the team consists of internal and external resources to ensure clear divisions of roles and expectations. To avoid confusion, it ensures that there is only one person accountable for any one task. PMBOK® 9.1.2.1, pg 262

All of the following are NOT tools or techniques for Develop Project Team EXCEPT:

Colocation (Choice) is the only listed tool or technique used with the Develop Project Team process. PMBOK® 9, pg 257

A well-known theory of team development states that teams may go through __________ stages of development.

A Two
B Three
C Six
D Five

A well-known theory (based on Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 model, or Tuckman’s Ladder) of team development states that teams may go through five stages (Choice D) of development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. PMBOK® 9.3.2.3, pg 276

You are the project manager for a new, global project. You and your team devise good procedures for conducting the project work in a virtual way. What is the BEST thing that can be done with these procedures?

A Add them to the issue database
B Add them to the historical records of the organization as lessons learned documentation
C Share them with your boss
D Do nothing. Just use them.

These procedures represent lessons learned, which is an organizational process asset. An issues database (Choice A) is for documenting issues, not procedures. Sharing knowledge with the boss (Choice C) is a good thing, but not the BEST answer. Keeping the procedures to yourself (Choice D) is self-serving (never the best answer). Making your procedure available in the lessons learned database (Choice B) gives other projects the opportunity to learn from your experiences. Note that it is not necessary to wait until the end of a project to share your knowledge. Project team members may update and add to the organizational process assets as necessary throughout the project (PMBOK® 2.1.4, pg 27), including during the Manage Project Team process. PMBOK® 9.4, pg 280

Training is a tool and technique used with Develop Project Team (Choice C). Training includes all activities to enhance the competencies of the project team members. PMBOK® 9.3.2.2, pg 275

Skills such as empathy, influence, creativity, and group facilitation are also known as __________ and are valuable assets when managing the project team.

A Innate skills
B Soft skills
C Hard skills
D Listening skills

Interpersonal skills are sometimes known as “soft skills” (Choice B) and are particularly important to team development. The project management team can greatly reduce problems and increase cooperation by understanding the sentiments of project team members, anticipating their actions, acknowledging their concerns, and following up on their issues. PMBOK® 9.3.2.1, pg 275

You are a new project manager for Company X. You are in the Plan Human Resource Management process and want your project to be as successful as possible. One of your colleagues hints that you may want to understand the goals and agenda of upper management, since they may have an impact on your project. What enterprise environmental factor should you investigate in order to be able to understand your colleague’s hint?

A Activity resource requirements
B Organizational culture and structure
C Organizational standard processes and policies and standardized role descriptions
D Historical information on organizational structures that have worked in previous projects

The project management team observes team behavior, manages conflict, resolves issues, and appraises team member performance. As a result of managing the project team, which of the following is NOT done?

The project management team is a subset of the project team. It can also be referred to as the core, executive, or leadership team. The implementation team (Choice B) would not accurately describe the roles and responsibilities of the project management team. PMBOK® 9, pg 256

The three typical types of project roles and responsibilities definition formats are:

Lisa, the functional manager of Chemistry, and Prakesh, the project manager of a very important product development project, have been talking for days about which of Lisa’s staff will serve on the project team. Lisa knows how visible the project will be and really wants to assign Herman to the project, even though he has fewer years of experience than his colleague, Tata. In addition, Tata’s time has already been committed to two other projects. Prakesh would prefer to have Tata on his team, because she has more experience than Herman, but Lisa continues to prefer Herman. What are Lisa and Prakesh doing?

A They are fighting over resources.
B They are using top down judgment.
C They are negotiating a team assignment.
D They are conducting a lessons learned session.

They are negotiating a team assignment (Choice C). The project management team’s ability to influence others plays an important role in negotiating staff assignments, as do the politics of the organizations involved. For example, a functional manager will weigh the benefits and visibility of competing projects when determining where to assign exceptional performers requested by various project teams. PMBOK® 9.2.2.2, pg 270

Daniel is starting the Plan Human Resource Management process for his first project. His mentor, Bob, suggests that Daniel should try networking. What is Bob suggesting that Daniel do?

A Build an activity diagram that shows activity dependencies
B Meet informally with experienced people to learn about political and interpersonal factors
C Design a cable infrastructure
D Employ Organizational Theory

Building a schedule network diagram (or activity diagram) (Choice A) is part of the Sequence Activities process, not the Plan Human Resource Management process. Choice C is nonsense. Although organizational theory (Choice D) is a tool and technique used with the Plan Human Resource Management process, it is not the same thing as networking (Choice B), which is the correct answer. Networking is the formal and informal interaction with others in an organization, industry, or professional environment. It is a constructive way to understand political and interpersonal factors that will impact the effectiveness of various staffing management options. PMBOK® 9.1.2.2, pg 263

In determining project staff assignments, project managers will often __________ functional managers in order to ensure that the project receives the appropriate staff during the time frame needed.

A Scheme against
B Argue with
C Ignore
D Negotiate with

Choice D is the correct answer. Staff assignments are often negotiated. For example, the project management team may need to negotiate with functional managers to ensure that the project receives appropriately competent staff in the required time frame, and that the project team members will be able, willing, and authorized to work on the project until their responsibilities are completed. PMBOK® 9.2.2.2, pg 270

The work that a project team member is expected to perform in order to complete the project’s activities is called a/an:

A Role.
B Responsibility.
C Competency.
D Authority.

A responsibility (Choice B) is the assigned duties and work that a project team member is expected to perform in order to complete the project’s activities. PMBOK® 9.1.3.1, pg 264

Which is the LEAST LIKELY way for a project manager to continually motivate his/her team?

Project managers should continually motivate their team by providing challenges and opportunities (Choice D), by providing timely feedback and support as needed (Choice A), and by recognizing and rewarding good performance (Choice B). Conducting budget reviews (Choice C) does not support any of these activities, and therefore is the correct answer. PMBOK® 9.3, pg 274

Victor, the project manager, has several impulsive people on the project team and he knows that it will be important to establish clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members. A Develop Project Team tool or technique that he has decided to use is most likely:

You discover that two of your important team members are having a problem working together. What should you do?

A You should address the conflict as soon as possible, probably in private, using a direct and collaborative approach.
B You should put them in a room together, remind them of the project schedule and deadlines and let them work it out for themselves.
C You should add it as an agenda item for discussion at the next team meeting.
D You should contact their functional managers and demand that the problem get solved.

Choice A is the correct answer. The project manager should help facilitate a satisfactory resolution to conflict. The best way to resolve a conflict is to address it early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach. PMBOK® 9.4.2.3, pg 283

The CEO informed Larry, the project manager, that he read a book about __________ and that Larry should use this as he develops the human resource management plan. He noted that it provides information regarding the way in which people, teams, and organizations behave, and thought this would be helpful for the project.

Organizational theory (Choice A) provides information regarding the way in which people, teams, and organizational units behave. Effective use of this information can shorten the amount of time, cost, and effort needed to create the human resource management planning outputs. PMBOK® 9.1.2.3, pg 263

Which of the following are you likely to find in an issue log?

A The name of the person responsible for resolving specific issues by a target date
B Documents that may be audited by an industry regulatory authority
C Documents that senior managers don’t like to see
D Performance metrics

Choice A is the correct answer. Issues arise throughout the course of a project. A written log documents and helps monitor who is responsible for resolving specific issues by a target date. PMBOK® 9.4.1.4, pg 281

All of the following are NOT Plan Human Resource Management tools or techniques EXCEPT:

A Colocation.
B Networking.
C Training.
D Interpersonal skills.

Choices A, C, and D are tools and techniques for the Develop Project Team process. Networking (Choice B) is a tool or technique for the Plan Human Resource Management process. PMBOK® 9, pg 257

Acquisition (Choice C) may take place when the performing organization lacks the in-house staff needed to complete the project and would like to acquire the services from outside sources. This can involve hiring individual consultants or subcontracting work to another organization. PMBOK® 9.2.2.3, pg 270

Information the project team receives from work performance reports can assist with which of the following?

A Are particularly important to ensure that all of the allocated budget for the project is spent, in order to avoid a penalty in the following year.
B Are particularly valuable when team members operate virtually from remote locations, without the benefit of face-to-face contact.
C Are needed to train project team members.
D Are needed for very challenging projects, but not for straightforward ones

Choice B is the correct answer. Informal communication and activities can help in building trust and establishing good working relationships. PMBOK® 9.3.2.3, pg 276

The project sponsor is:

A The person or group of people responsible for the project management activities.
B The person or group of people responsible for writing the work breakdown structure.
C The person or group that provides the financial resources, in cash or in kind, for the project.
D The person or group of people responsible for writing the contracts.

By definition, the sponsor is a person or group who provides resources and support for the project, program, or portfolio and is accountable for enabling success. PMBOK® Glossary, pg 563

What is the output for staffing changes from Manage Project Team that is processed through the Perform Integrated Change Control process?

When staffing issues disrupt the project team, such as causing the schedule to be extended or the budget to be exceeded, a change request (Choice B) can be processed through the Perform Integrated Change Control process. PMBOK® 9.4.3.1, pg 284

Early commitment to clear guidelines (ground rules) (Choice A) decreases misunderstandings and increases productivity. Discussing ground rules allows team members to discover values that are important to one another. All project team members share responsibility for enforcing the rules once they are established. PMBOK® 9.3.2.4, pg 277

All of the following are indicators that may be used in the evaluation of a team’s effectiveness EXCEPT:

A Improvements in skills that allow individuals to perform assignments more effectively.
B Improvements in competencies that help the team perform better.
C Reduced number of debates and discussions.
D Reduced staff turnover rate.

Choices A, B, and D are all indicators of a team’s effectiveness; therefore, Choice C is the correct answer. Furthermore, high performance teams can be expected to engage in productive debates and discussions, thereby sharing information and experiences openly. PMBOK® 9.3.3.1, pg 278

Responsibilities related to managing the project are listed and explained in the project management plan, usually under the human resources section. In what section of the project management plan (or project documents) would you NOT find project managing responsibilities?

Choices A, C and D are all inputs to the Develop Project Team process. Pre-assignment (Choice B) is a tool and technique for the Acquire Project Team process. PMBOK® 9, pg 257

The availability of electronic communications such as e-mail and video conferences have enabled __________, which make it possible to form teams of people who live in widespread geographic areas or who work from home offices.

During your last mentoring session, you mentioned that your project team was having trouble working together. Team members are not showing up on time for meetings, people are not helping each other with assignments and vital communications are not shared. Which of the following techniques does your mentor suggest that you try to fix this situation?

hoices B, C and D contain tools and techniques; therefore, the BEST answer is the one with only inputs (Choice A). Inputs to the Acquire Project Team process include the human resource management plan, enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets. The human resource management plan includes roles and responsibilities, project organization charts and the staffing management plan. PMBOK® 9.2.1, pg 269

Neal is working with his team to complete development of the human resource management plan and they cannot agree on how many team members will be needed for the project. What input would have told the team the answer to that question?

Which of the following is a factor in determining the need for formal or informal project performance appraisals?

A Complexity of the project
B Number of poor performing team members
C The functional managers’ workload and available time
D The project’s budget

Choice A is the correct answer. The need for formal or informal project performance appraisals depends on the length of the project, complexity of the project, organizational policy, labor contract requirements, and the amount and quality of regular communication. PMBOK® 9.4.2.2, pg 282

During Manage Project Team, what are change requests used for?

A To indicate budget overruns
B To pander to stakeholders
C To request staffing changes
D To request cross-training for team members

Staffing changes can affect the rest of the project management plan and are submitted using change requests (Choice C). PMBOK® 9.4.3.1, pg 284

Choice B is the correct answer. Other tools and techniques for the Manage Project Team process include project performance appraisals, conflict management and interpersonal skills. PMBOK® 9.4.2.1, pgs 281-284

Denise schedules performance appraisals for her team during the course of a project. Why would she do that, rather than wait until the end of the project?

A To provide clarification of roles and responsibilities, constructive feedback to team members, discovery of unknown or unresolved issues, development of training plans, and the establishment of specific goals for future time periods
B To establish authority
C To correct some team member’s behaviors
D To communicate roles and responsibilities

Choice A is the correct answer. The need for formal or informal project performance appraisals depends on the length of the project, complexity of the project, organizational policy, labor contract requirements, and the amount and quality of regular communication. PMBOK® 9.4.2.2, pg 238

Carla, the project manager for a large cross-functional project, is creating a hierarchical type chart that is arranged according to the organization’s existing departments with the project activities listed under each department. She is creating a/an __________.

Choice B, the organizational breakdown structure (OBS), is arranged according to an organization’s existing departments, units, or teams with the project activities or work packages listed under each department. PMBOK® 9.1.2.1, pg 261